The Curves paper dolls I originally drew while on a ferry traveling from Juneau, Alaska (where I am from) to Prince Rupert, Canada (where I got on the highway.) That was over a year ago. I still enjoy drawing the paper dolls, but I must confess I’m a little low on ideas for them. As a result, I am requesting assistance. Sounds so official.

People can either post their ideas in the comments or drop me an email (paperthinpersonas(at)gmail.com). If you want to include photos, please use the email option. There is no reward for this except that I’ll draw it and put your name on it (unless you’d rather I didn’t). The only guidelines are that the Curves paper dolls are always in black and white and they are always in sets of two.

I’ve really been enjoying Liana’s posts over at her blog lately. I love that she’s making them more substantive. I always want to do that with my posts, but I also feel like I don’t have a lot to say. There is, also I suspect, a fair bit of general tiredness thrown in there. By the time a paper doll is ready to post, I am usually tired and not very interested or capable of writing intelligently.

It is something I am trying to work on.

On that vein, I would like to bring up one of my favorite websites which is Arabella Greyson’s site. Considering some of my other favorite websites are Go Fug Yourself and Jacket Magazine, it shouldn’t surprise anyone I have a soft spot for Greyson’s site which includes a selection from her collection of black paper dolls along with articles about her collection and about the question of race in relation to paper dolls. I remember reading about the famous baby doll experiment done by Kenneth and Mamie Clark in the 1940s and being fascinated by how children internalize the messages of toys. Though the more I read about it, the more concerned I become about the internal messages of my own paper dolls… then I remind myself not to over think these things.

I do love vintage fashion and though the 1940’s are not my favorite period, I drew this set of paper dolls around the same time I drew last weeks Curves post. In fact, it was exactly the same time, as with that post I used the Vintage Fashion Wiki to find pattern covers from the 1940s and then drew them.

Though I like the way it turned out, I am the first to confess that my interest in 1940’s costume can be linked entirely to my love of Foyle’s War another fantastic BBC drama. I love BBC dramas much more than I should. Plus I can get them from the library for free which when you’re a starving graduate student is a lovely advantage. To be fair, I’ve also been watching a great deal of The X-files, but I doubt I am going to drawing 1990’s suits a la Dana Scully. I’m just not that much of a fan of early 90’s suits.

I sort of collect historical costume and vintage fashion resources around the web. One of my favorites is The Vintage Patterns Wiki full of pattern covers from the 20th century. From there, I found the wonderful blog What I Found where the author had posted a Simplicity Simplicity Fashion Forecast – 1937 advertising book. It’s wonderful. Curve’s paper doll costumes both come from this lookbook from the era- one smart suit and one summery casual frock. Her shoes are based on illustrations in John Peacock’s book Fashion Accessories.

I’ve been drawing a lot, but not posting a lot which is rare for me. Usually, I’m struggling to keep up with the blog and come up with ideas. Lately, all I’ve been wanting to do is draw and when it comes time to scan or color, I just sort of go, “Meh”. I think it’s because I find drawing relaxing and posting is more like work. Anyway, today’s Curves is going up and on Friday there will be a Florence (one of the last Florence’s I suspect) and starting in November there will be a new Fashion Doll Friday paper doll, of style I don’t know yet. Maybe I’ll put it too a vote.

It’s been a long few days between work and classes, so Curves is a slightly late paper doll today. Her dress is based off one I own and wear all the time. (I never thought I’d love dresses as much as I do. It’s like one step dressing for work.) The tank top is based off an image in Anthropologie, but it was from a few years ago. I do love Anthroplogie’s clothing, but they are so expensive that I just admire from a distance.

Edit: I have removed the PDF file link for the moment, because for some reason the file seems to have a coding problem which is turning out to be too complicated for me to get fixed tonight (’tis late and I am tired). Thanks to Corissia who noticed it. I will get it fixed within the next few days. Until then, you can print from the PNG file.

Mermaids and I have a mixed relationship. On one hand, I really think they look pretty. On the other hand, I don’t think I can draw tails to save my life. The result is that I always think the idea of mermaids is great, but the reality usually doesn’t make me happy. But I think if you don’t try new things and stretch then you can not learn, so here we have me stretching.

Yes… that’s my excuse.

So, a new paper doll blog that was pointed out to me is Vee’s Paper Dolls which are darling and then on Monday, Liana linked Cutout Couture which has a fantastic name. I mean, I kinda think my blog title sounds like I either can’t properly pluralize my Latin or I have multiple personality disorder and paper dolling is my therapy (one of these is true… or both… you decide). I know I’ve gotten some requests to comment on other people’s work and I do try to comment on blogs when I can/when I remember, but I usually don’t remember to comment even when I do check out people’s blogs.

And I thought, but I don’t know what a skypirate is, except perhaps a pirate who rides around the sky. I decided that skypirates would need flying ships, obviously, and so I turned to an old Russian folkstory called The Fool and The Flying Ship where in a fool gains a ship which will fly and proceeds to win the hand of a princess. I really loved the book of it we had when I was a kid.

The result is a little less pirate-ish and a little more Eastern European nobleman-esque. The outfit on the left is based on a vest from the Serbiadating about second half of the 19th century which lives in the Victoria and Albert Museum. The pants are from traditional Cassock uniforms and the boots are based on those worn by hot air ballooners in the Victorian era. How’s that for an eleclectic collection of sources?

The outfit on the right’s jacket comes from Albania, also thanks to the V&A Museum. The trousers are based on those worn by sailors and young boys in VIctorian England and the shoes are just a pair of riding boots.

I don’t usually name my Curves paper dolls, but then I don’t usually need too. In this case it seems necessary, because how could I present the famous Adele without an introduction? Who else has fought for truth, justice and all other noble things while also being a smart young lady with an innate sense of style? With her glasses firmly over her eyes, her walking stick in hand and her gloves loaded, Adele faces off with the Mars Men, the strange otherworldly beings from the next dimension and still manages to lay a proper table for tea. Truly a lady to be admired by us all.

Is it obvious I’ve been spending a lot of time with Victorian three volume novels?

On an unrelated note, one of my goals for the last few days of drawing has been to stretch myself a bit with the paper dolls, so expect to see more pattern and more detail. The plaid on the vest is an example. I’ve always been scared of plaid, but I think it turned out okay.

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There are certain periods of history to which I am naturally attracted and then there are certain periods to which I couldn’t care less about. I find the Renaissance is not an era which I naturally am interested in, but there is a RenFaire (I’m not sure how to spell that, actually…) around here every year and though I haven’t yet gone to the Faire (apparently the added “e” is required) it got me thinking about Renaissance costume.

Now, I admit I don’t know much about Renaissance clothing, but it’s a very interesting time because the first costume books were published in the late Renaissance- the second half of the sixteenth century to be precise. The most famous of these books was by Vecellio who described not just the fashionable clothing of Venice (where he was from and where the book was printed), but also all over Europe and the world.The book was titled Degli habiti antichi et moderni di viverse parti del mondo or in English “The clothing, ancient and modern, of various parts of the world” and it has just recently come out in full translation by Thames and Hudson. Unfortunately, the copy my library has was checked out, so I had to make do with John Peacocks The Chronicle of Western Costume which, though I have heard many complaints about it and I do have a few of my own, is an excellent general source. Both of these dresses come from Venice in the late 1400’s. The hair is my own attempt at a simple head-dress and the SCA reference is a nod to the highly likely lack of actual historical accuracy.

Any organization which calls themselves the Society of Creative Anachronism does not take itself too seriously and neither do my paper dolls.